Wartburg students can rent bikes for transporation around the college campus. — Dan Haack/TRUMPET

Sustainability at Wartburg is continuing a free bike rental program on campus.

“It’s a great way to ride around campus and get my mind off things,” Becky Jennings, a Wartburg student, said.

Bikes are located at the Vogel Library and can be rented by talking with a librarian. Each person is limited to 24 hours with a bike and there are a total of four bikes, Sustainability coordinator, Anne Duncan said.

Duncan started the bike rental program a year ago. Her intentions are to have students spend less time going to their cars and have the ability to ride a bike to their destination.

“We are trying to create a transportation plan that provides alternatives for students to decrease the amount of cars that are being brought to campus and then decrease the amount of carbons that are being consumed by students, faculty and staff,” Duncan said.

The bike rental program isn’t well-known throughout campus because no advertising has been done, Duncan said.

“Last year was just a learning experience to see how we can coordinate the rental system to Wartburg,” she said.

Students across campus were unfamiliar with the program.

“I haven’t heard anything about it,” Cole Hauptmann said. “It sounds like a good idea. It’d be great if I want to go down to Subway and didn’t want to walk.”

“I didn’t know we had bike rentals,” Nicole Jamieson said.

Duncan said the program has been going good so far.

“This year, we are just seeing how word of mouth will go. At this point, without advertising, the bikes are almost consistently reserved or checked out,” Duncan said.

The Sustainability program doesn’t buy bikes for the students. Duncan said. The bikes in the program are provided by campus security’s confiscated bikes.

When a student leaves at the end of the year, they are required to take their property with them.

However, for students who leave their bicycles on campus, security confiscates the bikes and donates them to the rental program, John Myers, security and safety director said.

The rental bikes will go into storage after Thanksgiving break and will be available again next year in March, Myers said. The bikes will be taken to a storage barn owned by the college, he said.

The program is slowly continuing to grow. Duncan said she hopes the program will eventually benefit the environment. She wants Wartburg students to enjoy bike rides with friends.